To all our friends North or West, under feet of snow, pouring rain or sleet, a few flowers for the winter. (Hibiscus ๐บ ) (There even is an emoji…) (Scary ain’t it? The Mac detects the typed word and suggests an emoji. All the while sending a copy of all I/we write to head-office. Theirs. Not mine. Cupertino.)
Just realized I had posted this flower twice. I try not to do that. But it’s all right, isn’t it?
“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose,
By any other name would smell as sweet…” (Juliet in Romeo & Juliet)
Copa de oro. (Gold cup, but no football here, mate). Allamanda cathartica… (Always wanted to put the Latin names…) Comes from Brazil. A very big and heavy flower. Lasts but a day or two.
Confiturillas. (Small jams?) (Lantana camara) Called Lantanier in French, it is originally from the Caribbeans and Central America. I remember them in the garden of the magic house by the African sea. Far, far away. In space and time. Increasingly. (Did I just write an adverb? Tsk.)
Azaleas. Just learnt it belongs to the rhododendron family. I always thought rhododendrons were flowers that grew in Tibet on the slopes of the Himalaya. (See Tintin in Tibet)
“Mignonne, allons voir si la rose
“Qui ce matin avait desclose…”
(Pretty one, let’s see whether the rose
That this morn’ had bloomed…)
(One of the oldest poems in “modern” French by Pierre de Ronsard, 1550. Yesterday.)
Daylight hibiscus. The daylight hibiscus is bolder than its cousin, the night hibiscus displayed above. Properly tamed, it can eat in your hand.
No idea what this is. (I only just downloaded the flower and plant identification app: “iNaturalist”. Quite good an App actually.) I did see those flowers in West Africa too.
White azaleas. ๐ธ Hey! They have an emoji too… (Pink?)
Red hibiscus. This species must be handled with care. Some individuals can be fairly aggressive. Never look at them in the eye.
Not a tennis ball. (Ask “Novax Djokovid”)
Just another gold cup blooming.
Thank you for strolling in Equinoxio’s gardens. All pictures taken in Cuernavaca, Mexico, December-January.
Some experts claim that flowers migrate to the South during winter and will fly back North around March-April. They will return. Hang in tight. ๐
Equinoxio 
Que bonita!!!
Este comentario estaba perdido. Tsssk. Computer bugs… Bonita semana…
Thank you for the flowers, Brian! I’m just getting up to put on another layer. It’s really cold here today!!
I can imagine. This is the time of layers over layers. That’s the way I felt in NY in November… Put one more layer on before going out. All well Liz? (This comment was “pending”. What is WP doing?) Tssk
All is well here. I’ve found legitimate comments in WP spam recently as well.
Reminds me to check more frequently… Cheers Liz
๐
Thanks for sending some warmth my way, Brian. Although, I really canโt complain in here in SoCal. Gorgeous blooms. Hope all is well with you- wishing you much happiness in the new year. ๐
Happy New Year Jane. Yeah, I guess your weather is not too bad. Though I do remember Socal to be fresh in December. All well?
So that is why so many of the flowers disappear in winter, … ๐ ๐ … one lives and learns … ๐
Beautiful flower photos!
Blumen fรผr die.
So very beautiful. Thank you for the flowers in winter.
My pleasure Gigi. I thought a bit of colour would be to your liking…
Very nice flowers. Thanks for posting them.
Don’t mention it. Glad you liked them. A bit of colour in the grey of winter. โ๏ธ (But hey! I have it on good authority that March is coming soon.)
I fine bouquet with added raindrops
On the spur of the moment. Happy new year Derrick. (I don’t think we’ve been in touch yet this year. Or have we?) Hope all is well?
We are fine, Brian. I’m sure you’ve done some artwork collections
Not really. Not after New York. Stayed in Mexico all the time. Though I did pick some good street art. Will post shortly. Cheers.
Beautiful and hilarious. I was warned by an Australian blogger than lantanas are poisonous. I wonder if I must warn mom, she loves them and has them all over. And this? โNovax Djokovidโ First time I see it. Spot on.
I seem to remember way back in Africa my mother telling us kids to be careful with those flowers. (I can still visualize the exact spot where they were in the house…) One learns in Africa to leave things alone. Plants, animals, etc.
Novax Djocovid is not “mine. I read it in a French paper. I found it fitting… ๐คฃ
Nice. Not your usual fare. Lanterna is considered an invasive species here and a bit of a weed.
I tend to remove it toot sweet if I come across it while tramping in the garden.
I once wrote a small fantasy novel and I remember reading (damned if I can recall the name of the author ) that one of the first editing jobs one should undertake was to go through the MS and remove every adverb!
I didn’t manage to get rid of ail of them, but sound advice. nevertheless.
I think your unknown flower (Photo 8) is a Periwinkle. (Don’t quote me!) We have a few along our driveway.
It’s good to change from time to time, isn’t it? ๐
Clemenceau had a paper (who incidentally published Zola’s “j’accuse” on the Dreyfus scandal. He was quoted to tell a new journalist as such: “young man – not many women then – you will write in my paper. I want simple, precise sentences. Subject, verb, complement. That’s it. Be wary of adjectives. Adjectives are subjective. And if you are thinking of writing an adverb, call me!”
Since I wrote a lot in Market research, I applied that all the way.
(Did you publish your fantasy novel?)
lanterna, as I recall in West Africa is very invasive… And lots of barbs and spikes.
Now periwinkle, I’d forgotten that’s how you guys call our pervenche… It may well be. I will try to snap a shot tomorrow…
Pretty flowers. Cheers Mate.
Yes I had my novel published by a local publisher some time ago.
Not Colonialist was it?
Les Noble (colonialist) was my editor for P’kaboo publishers.They were based in Pretoria.
He was? OMG. So you were more than mere E-acquaintances… I do miss him and his wit terribly. Have you heard about his family? He was so close to his granddaughters. They must be devastated.
We were never off line friends,though I considered him a friend during the time we knew each other.
Les lived in Durban . You know l’m up in Johannesburg,yes?
P’kaboo is a small publisher but the owner/publisher lost her husband during an armed house intrusion. She left South Africa soon after and relocated with her children to Ireland. Things have been somewhat in the back burner since.
I remember he lived in Durban. And you’re in J’burg. (one of my cousins used to live there). Les had a house by the sea, then moved. I liked his wit.
The publisher lost her husband that way? God! SA sounds like Mexico or worse. Two Canadian tourists just got killed in Yucatan. One feels like one is dodging the bullets all the time.
Friends of ours here, long time friends were assaulted in their house. Tied up all night. The husband and his son were beaten up. The invaders threatened to rape the daughter. She was about 20 then. Fortunately they didn’t. Still a bitter experience.
Take care of yourself Mate.
We do what we can ….
I sincerely doubt many of your flowers will migrate north – they’d have to be crazy to!
I have azaleas. I do love hibiscus (those we must bring in when the cold hits. Roses are always a pleasure, aren’t they?
Merci, Brieuc! Such a lovely post.
Pas de quoi Dale. Hibiscus are lovely flowers. Here they cook them in water, reduce them to a juice, and serve cold. They call it Jamaica. (Rastafari!)
Yes, I’ve bought hibiscus tea bags that can be drunk hot or cold… I imagine fresh must be quite different.
My grandchildren love them.
Lovely!
Copa de oro? Lasts just a day? Have you heard of the corpse flower? It takes anywhere between 8 to 20 years to bloom. Hibiscus? In India, I believe, women adorn their hair with it and at your end, theyโre made into a juice? Seriously?
Hadn’t heard about the corpse flower. B ut I have seen hibiscus used on hair very pretty. And yes it makes a juice here. crazy isn’t it?
Hibiscus juice sounds odd, but how does it taste?:)
I find it bitter and raspy. But with a lot of sugar, the kids love it…
I will Google it for its appearance.
Anxiously awaiting the return of migrating flowers!
I can imagine. Will send some your way ASAP.
What a lovely taste of spring during our cold winter. Fun to see so many of the same flowers we see here. Cheers.
Is that right? What flowers do we share?
(Spring is coming your way soon…) ๐ท ๐น ๐บ ๐ธ ๐
Some of the ones you pictured but I donโt know what most of them are called. Iโll have to figure it out.
Download the app. ๐
What a beautiful collection of flowers, my friend! Given that it’s been at or below freezing here for a couple of weeks, though only a few inches of snow, I definitely loved seeing all these bloomin’ colours! I cannot pick a favourite, for they are all beautiful and have lifted my spirits a bit. Thank you, Brian! ๐ผ๐น๐ป๐บ๐ท
Hi Jill. You are one of the inspirations for these flowers. I know how cold and grey winter can be.
(And glad it lifted your spirits…) Been wondering about your health. Hopping to your blog.
Awwww … you remembered! Thank you, dear friend! As re my health, I am doing better, but far from ‘back to normal’, whatever that is. I no longer pass out every time I stand up, and have even managed to cook a few simple meals, vacuum the carpet, and clean the bathroom, but not all on the same day! ๐ I’m impatient at the slowness of my progress, but it is progress. Thank you for caring, Brian, and thank you for the flowers!
I did. ๐
Progress is slow, but needs to be steady. It doesn’t matter if it takes you a week to do what you did on a single day, what matters is that you do it. Constantly. Have the doctors prescribed some sort of mild exercise yet?
You’re a good man!
Yes, it is slow and I am not known for being a very patient person, but I’m trying. No, so far the doctor’s first choice is for me to have the Cardioversion and see what that will accomplish, but every time they try, there is a problem with either my potassium or iron levels, so it hasn’t been done yet. I’m doing some exercise on my own, even if only climbing the 15 steps to the bedroom a couple of times a day, but also a bit of cleaning and cooking a couple of nights a week. I’m not comfortable walking around the block or to the dumpster at the end of the street just yet, though, for I still have frequent dizzy spells.
Well, patience is hard to muster sometimes. Heed your doctor’s words and see how it goes. Do what you feel you can do. And effectively if you have dizzy spells it may be too early to walk around the block. Time and measure will get you around.
Such beautiful and colourful flowers – we don’t get to see them in Ireland during the winter as the landscape is dreary and barren. Thanks for sharing and have a good day ๐ Aiva xx
Winter in Ireland is a tad cold to my taste. I remember freezing in Dublin visiting an old friend centuries ago. PLus the Irish don’t seem to heat their homes that much.
Take care Aiva.
Nature is good there I see. People have a bad nature though… ๐
Thank you for the colored beauties. There’s green grass in my garden now but no flowers. If it weren’t for the low temperatures at night winter would be a thing of the past here.
Nice grass. ๐๐ป
Lovely captures Brian.
Salamat Arlene. Hopping to your “place” right now.
Merci Brieuc, pour toutes ces belles fleurs pleines de couleurs et de soleil.
Pas de quoi. Quand je pense ร la chance qu’on a ici pour le climat et la vรฉgรฉtation… รงa donne envie de partager… ๐
Oh! This is gorgeous dear Brian. The flowers are beautiful and the narrative as well. We have so many variations of Hibiscus here and since we hardly have what one would call a winter they are in full bloom. Thank you for this uplifting post. Take care my friend ๐บ
You too. Your weather should not be too different from here at least in Cuernavaca. Mexico city is colder in January. Tschรผร
Oh thank, abit of color is right what I need! Winter in Berlin is dreadfull! Cold and grey but not cold enough for snow … Meh! (Is there an emoji for meh?)
I can imagine a Berlin winter, similar to Paris, maybe a tad colder. Grey…
Let me see if there is an emoji. ๐ (There is! I typed meh and the emoji appeared… I insist this is scary! Orwellian scary)
Tschรผร Freundin.
Ha ha, that is too funny and very fitting as well. It’s an outrage there are no emojis with gnomes! Merci mon amie
Pas de quoi. I just tried Nain de jardin and a few other languages. No dice. ๐ฒ NO emoji.
I know. Shocking!
Shocking. Now that’s a very British old expression. Nice to hear it.
Great collection of flowers. Nicely composed๐นโ
Thank you. ๐๐ป
After seeing these photos, Gerard de Nerval’s โEvery flower is a soul blossoming in nature” has a new meaning. Beautiful!
Chaque fleur est une รขme ร la nature รฉclose… I had to look up the French original text. Very right right. Thank you.
Iโve never seen it in its original French: thank you for sharing!
Avec plaisir. Most welcome. Curiosity: how did you come across Gรฉrard de Nerval? I thought he was known mostly to my fellow French.
๐ I believe that a great way to understand cultures, nations, and people is to familiarize oneself with their mythology, history, and literature.
Indeed. Spread that and there could be less wars. The Erasmus programme in Europe did a lot for young people to immerse in other European cultures…
A beautiful, colourful post for winter.
I adore all of the flowers. Thank you dear Brian!!!!!!!
My pleasure dear Resa.
โค
Clearly, I missed this post but luckily I’m catching up no thanks to WP. Thank you for sharing all the lovely photos of flowers. ๐
Don’t mention it… ๐
Puoi postare tutti i fiori anche doppi…sono sempre un bel vedere!
Grazie per queste meraviglie.
Grazie altrettanto a te.
Beautiful flowers. Thank you for sharing. Big hugs ๐ค Joni
Don’t mention it. My pleasure.
Ahhh merci pour ces images, mon ami.
On se les gรจle iciโฆ
๐
Bises
Ouiiii. J’imagine. Je pensais ร toi dans ton “grand Nord…” les routes sont ouvertes au moins?
J’ai vu ton post. Pas encore ouvert… J’aime prendre mon temps pour le lire.
Couvre-toi bien… Biz
Thanks for the beautiful flowers. In Delhi, where I live, we are waiting for the cold to recede so that spring can bring the flowers back
Yeah, most people think India is “always hot” everywhere, but Delhi must chilly right now… Hang on. Spring will come. And flowers. ๐
spring is now palpable here ….
I can imagine. And then the heat explodes… ๐๐ป
Beautiful scenes, and it gives us all a reason to come to visit you from December through January so we can all stroll in and around the garden of Equinoxio ~ Cuernavaca, Mexico looks to be an oasis in the grey, cold, and western lands up north ๐ Cheers to the springtime right around the corner!
Spring is coming. (Contrary to Game of thrones) ๐
Lovely selection. Just what I needed this morning, huddling under an afghan with nothing but snow and drab tree trunks and pavement outside the window. The flower you don’t recognize is a vinca. Or at least that’s what we call them. They’re one of my husband’s favorites.
I love roses. My father always maintained a large rose garden. He enjoyed bringing fresh bouquets to friends and family members. The best scent in the world. Thanks for the snippet by Ronsard.
Glad the flowers helped crawl out of bed. ๐
Vinca? Your husband is a man of taste. I was told it is also called a perriwinkle. i.e. pervenche. (Same word with modifications if you’ll notice). The pervenches was also the name given to the first meter maids in Paris… (Lovely Rita…), because it was the colour of their uniforms.
Gardening is a lot of work. Those who do it well enjoy it. Your father must have.
And of course, Ronsard was a must with roses…
Au revoir.
Canโt wait for Spring proper at the end of this month, the daffodils are starting to show now and the hour will spring forward again soon hooray.
Daffodils are brave little ones, aren’t they?
Beautiful! ๐บโค